Load and reset example runbooks

Edit online

IBM® Runbook Automation provides ready-to-go sample runbooks. Load the examples to explore what you can do with runbooks.

Before you begin

Warning: If you want to edit a sample runbook and adjust it to your requirements, or if you are considering publishing a modified sample runbook to use in production, it is recommended to first create a copy of the sample runbooks and then edit and publish the copy. Similarly, if the sample runbook uses an automated step, then create a copy of the automation action and use that copy within your new runbook. This is to avoid losing your work (or even disrupting production) if somebody deletes or reloads the sample runbooks.
You can load example runbooks if you have the RBA Author or RBA Manager role. For more information about roles, see Creating users.

Procedure

  • Load sample runbooks

    Load all pre-defined examples. You can also edit the example runbooks and create new versions.

    1. In the Navigation icon main navigation menu, select Adjust settings icon Administration and click Integration with other systems.
    2. Click Automation type.
    3. Ensure that a connection of type "SSH" has been configured. If it does not yet exist you can configure it now (with default values).
    4. Open the runbook Library page.
    5. Click load examples Load sample runbooks and select Load sample runbooks.
    6. The sample runbooks are shown in the Library page. The runbooks will show up for Operators if they are published. The samples are marked by the text Example:.
    7. Click Preview to view the runbook and see what it does.
    8. Click Run to run your first runbook. For more information about how to run a runbook, see Run your first runbook.
  • Sample runbooks with special administrative use cases
    Some of the following sample runbooks go beyond just illustrating the features of runbooks:
    • Example: Convert existing operational procedures into runbooks: This runbook explains how to convert your existing operational procedures into runbooks. It covers file based procedures and web/wiki based procedures.
    • Example: Import runbooks from an existing runbook deployment: Provides instructions on how to export runbooks from one deployment and import them to another deployment. It uses the RBA API for both operations.
    • Example: Reduce amount of data in runbook data stores and its automated variant Example: Automatically reduce amount of data in runbook data stores: Offload runbook execution data into a secondary data store for auditing or long-term storage purposes. This will delete that data from the production data store to ensure less disc space usage and faster response times on the active system.
  • Reset sample runbooks

    Follow these steps if you edited the examples and would like to reload the original version, or if you have upgraded to a new version and want to get the latest versions of the examples:

    1. Open the runbook Library page.
    2. Open the Reload sample runbooks load examples menu.
    3. Select Delete sample runbooks and wait for the sample runbooks to be deleted.
    4. Open the Load sample runbooks load examples menu.
    5. Select the Load sample runbooks menu item and wait for the sample runbooks to be loaded.
  • Convert a sample runbook to a regular runbook

    To save a sample runbook as a regular runbook:

    1. Open the Library page.
    2. On the runbook that you want to convert, click the menu overflow icon Open menu and select Copy runbook.
    3. Change the runbook name. You can optionally update the description.
    4. Click Save.

      After saving, the runbook will no longer be tagged as an example.

    5. If the sample runbook references an automation, then you need to create a "deep copy" manually:
      1. Navigate to the Automation table and select the referenced sample automation.
      2. Copy the sample automation and modify its name so you can identify the copy.
      3. Edit the copy of the sample runbook, and replace the reference to the original sample automation with a reference to your new copy of the sample automation.
  • Delete sample runbooks

    1. Open the Library page.
    2. Click load examples Load sample runbooks and select Delete sample runbooks.
    3. Confirm that you want to delete the sample runbooks from the Library page.